Who has the right to check the homeowners association. Inspection of financial and economic activities: audit of the HOA by regulatory authorities Prosecutor's inspection of the HOA

05.01.2024

After receiving the keys, homeowners in apartment building to choose management organization. The latter is called upon to maintain order in the building and resolve any important issues. The most popular form of government today is considered to be an HOA.

The owners' association is formed directly by the apartment owners. Each of them has the right to know how and on what funds are spent by members HOA board. An independent inspection - an audit - is called upon to answer this question. Let's take a closer look at how to check the activities of an association.

The need to check the HOA is due to the regular receipt of cash. Lack of proper control is fraught with waste, which is a violation of current legislation.

The most common variations of deception and their consequences are as follows:

  1. Signing fictitious contracts, and subsequent withdrawal of funds to the accounts of interested parties through third-party companies. As a result, only part of the funds from the general fund remains under the management of the HOA. Lack of money negatively affects the maintenance of the house and surrounding area.
  2. Ignoring laws and audit requirements. Members of the HOA board take funds in cash, which can be regarded as theft and tax evasion.
  3. Negligence in the provision of services. It is fraught with the deplorable condition of the house and surrounding areas.

Who has the right to conduct an audit?

Audit HOA check carried out not only by specialized organizations. Any homeowner can initiate an inspection.

To do this, you must first carefully study the contract concluded with the organization. Based on specific points, you can obtain from board members the most detailed information about the activities of the HOA.

Audit Commission

Represents a body that includes some residents apartment building. Moreover, the latter should not be involved as members of the HOA board.

Mention of this organization can be found in Art. 150 of the country's Housing Code. By law, the commission does not have the right to correct decisions made by the board of the partnership. Her responsibilities include audit and supervision of activities.

Prosecutor's office

The Law on the Prosecutor's Office regulates its rights regarding control over the actions of legal entities. In order for the activities of the HOA to be within the framework of the law, the organization must be registered.

Control methods

If doubts arise regarding the honesty of the chairmen of the partnership, a corresponding complaint should be sent to representatives of the competent authorities. The latter will conduct the necessary inspection of the HOA (audit). Based on its results, penalties will be applied to the organization.

How to conduct a self-check? You should start by contacting the audit committee. You will need to familiarize yourself with the following documents:

  • Accounting department reports.
  • Results of the last inventory carried out.
  • Reports on completed work.

It is necessary to compare the information received and try to identify any discrepancies. If any work commissioned by the HOA was carried out by contractors, find out information about them through the Unified State Register of Legal Entities.

Theft detection

The question of how to check an HOA for theft is quite relevant. Anyone who wants to achieve the truth can:

  • file a complaint with the Prosecutor's Office;
  • conduct an independent check.

Legally unskilled residents have the right to hire specialists, whose competent work will help identify those who steal.

Carrying out verification

To ensure that the audit is independent and objective, a special commission performs the following actions:

  • Gives an assessment of the activities of the HOA from the point of view of legality.
  • Checks inventory lists.
  • Makes a request for accounting information.

Actually, the purpose of the inspection commission is to detect cases of illegal embezzlement of funds. Exceeding official powers by board members will also not go unnoticed. Sometimes, to obtain information, it is enough to talk with the residents of the house.

Sometimes residents do not know who can initiate an HOA audit. Such legal incompetence entails impunity and a worsening of the existing situation.

It is permissible to make a decision to conduct an audit at a general house meeting. The latter can be convened by any owner as necessary. This is evidenced by the Housing Code of the Russian Federation (Article 45). Please note: an unscheduled meeting is counted if the share of those present is more than 50%.

Cost of verification

It is impossible to name the specific cost of the audit. Commission services are paid in each case individually, based on the available volume of work.

Often, the capital of an HOA does not exceed the threshold of 20 million rubles. In addition, the partnership cannot switch to a specific tax payment system. The cost of an audit under such conditions varies between 25-70 thousand rubles. The selected company will provide a more specific figure.

Work of the counting commission

The Counting Commission is a body that, at each HOA meeting held, counts how many residents voted. Its formation may be provided for by the charter of the partnership. If we're talking about about absentee voting, members of the counting commission conduct a door-to-door survey.

If you have any suspicions about the work of the members of the HOA board, you should take care of a thorough check. It can be carried out either on your own or with the help of third-party organizations. Both options are regulated by current legislation.

A homeowners' association is a non-profit organization that is created by the owners of apartments in an apartment building to ensure the operation of common premises in a residential building and joint management of the common property of the residential building. The homeowners association, on its own behalf, enters into agreements necessary for the management and operation of a residential building, while the association is responsible for maintaining proper technical condition common property in an apartment building. For an apartment owner, the issue of control over the activities of the homeowners’ association is relevant, and not least - control over the targeted expenditure of funds paid by apartment owners for the purpose of carrying out current and major repairs, technical maintenance and maintenance of a residential building. In accordance with Art.

HOA audit

HOAs, and find ways to correct them. The audit provides residents and the HOA board with the opportunity to:

  • check the correctness of the applied tariffs when calculating utility bills;
  • evaluate the correctness and effectiveness of financial decisions made by the chairman of the HOA;
  • form a complete picture of the state of financial affairs in the HOA or cooperative;
  • justify the effectiveness of the chairman of the HOA's management of the residents' funds;
  • Receive an independent audit of the quality of accounting and tax accounting conducted by the HOA accounting department.

How to force the chairman to conduct an audit of the HOA? The procedure for appointing an audit and the powers of residents as members of the HOA are usually enshrined in the HOA Charter. Please note that according to Art.

Conducting an audit of the HOA (homeowners' association)

  • How are the savings received by the HOA from paying for utilities and other services distributed?
  • Payments to dubious suppliers and contractors are identified HOA services, questionable financial and economic transactions with HOAs.
  • The report presents grouped data by expense items for the audited reporting period, in tabular and other forms for the HOA and the Management Company.
  • Analysis in progress financial situation Partnerships, signs of insolvency and bankruptcy are identified.
  • Recovery accounting(if accounting documents are available).
  • Consultations on accounting and tax accounting.
  • Far from it full list audit services and what auditors check in HOAs, TSNs and management companies, which can be provided by professional auditors of Audit Expert LLC.

Homeowners Association Audit

It is mainly checked by an authorized specialist, but inspections by ordinary residents are allowed, i.e. they act as auditors. After all, the cost of private auditor services is often very high. In all cases, the chairman of the organization bears responsibility for work in the partnership and mistakes made during the work.

However, in order to identify errors in the work of the organization, the following list of persons may appoint an audit by auditors:

  • chairman of the HOA;
  • members of the partnership;
  • apartment owners.

Thus, regardless of whether a person is a member of the partnership or whether he holds any position in it, being the owner of the property under the management of the partnership, this person has the right to order an audit. But in most cases, such an audit is appointed by the chairman of the organization.

Inspection of the financial and economic activities of the homeowners association by regulatory authorities

Audit organization

  • Audit organization - commercial organization, which is a member of one of the self-regulatory organizations of auditors.
  • A commercial organization acquires the right to carry out auditing activities from the date of entering information about it into the register of auditors and audit organizations of a self-regulatory organization of auditors (hereinafter referred to as the register of auditors and audit organizations), of which such an organization is a member.
  • A commercial organization, information about which is not included in the register of auditors and audit organizations within three months from the date of making an entry about it in the Unified state register legal entities do not have the right to use the word “audit” in their name, as well as derivative words from the word “audit”.

The review period is usually a calendar year.
A82-14096/2015). And other documents, such as: staffing table, order books, concierge duty sheets, receipt sheets wages, vacation schedules, the HOA is not obliged to provide members of the partnership and home owners (Appeal ruling of the St. Petersburg City Court dated August 18, 2016 No. 33-15377/16). Therefore, to conduct a full audit of the financial and economic activities of the HOA, it is better to use the services of an audit company. What is checked during an HOA audit? Homeowners associations, along with “ordinary” companies, represent tax, accounting, pension, statistical reporting in the prescribed manner.

Why do you need a homeowners association audit?

In particular, the general meeting decides the following questions related to financial activities partnerships:

  • establishing the amount of obligatory payments and contributions of members of the partnership;
  • education reserve fund, a fund for the restoration and repair of the common property of an apartment building; determining the directions for using income from the activities of the partnership;
  • approval of the annual plan for the financial activities of the partnership (estimates of income and expenses) and a report on the implementation of such a plan; approval of estimates of income and expenses;
  • determination of the amount of remuneration

For the purposes of monitoring the current financial and economic activities of a homeowners’ association, the most important is the authority of the members of the homeowners’ association to approve the annual financial activity plan (estimate of income and expenses) and a report on its implementation.

How to conduct an audit of a homeowners association

Convening an extraordinary meeting of the board and general meeting of its members if, during the inspection, violations are discovered that are directly related to economic, financial activities, the rights and interests of the owners of premises, offenses that contribute to the creation of a threat to the interests of the HOA, which require urgent resolution of issues within the competence of the board, its chairman Explanations from the board of its attracted workers, including officials on issues that are within the powers of the Audit Commission and the employee, the Audit Commission resolves the issue of convening an extraordinary meeting of HOA members by voting. At the same time, she may require proposals and comments to be included in the agenda of the issue. Her demands must be submitted to the board in writing.

How to organize an audit of a homeowners association

For example, in terms of VAT, auditors identify problems with the correct application of the benefit. The fact is that the provision of utility services to HOAs at a cost corresponding to the cost of purchasing these utilities, including VAT, from utility organizations, electricity suppliers and gas supply organizations is exempt from VAT. A similar procedure for applying VAT exemption is established in clause 30, clause 3 of Art.


149 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation on work (services) for the maintenance and repair of common property in an apartment building. Thus, the Tax Code of the Russian Federation does not provide for exemption from taxation of utility services, work (services) for the maintenance and repair of common property in an apartment building, work (services) for the management of apartment buildings and other work (services) performed (rendered) by the HOA’s own resources ( Letter from the Federal Tax Service of the Russian Federation for the city.

Info

To identify all sorts of problems in the activities of the HOA and their timely elimination, it is advisable to conduct an audit at least once a year. Cost of conducting an audit of HOAs and Management Companies Our practice has shown that the cost of an HOA audit is many times less than wasted, stolen funds. It is better to prevent fraud in time than to sue for years and wait for the return of stolen funds.


The cost of an HOA audit for 2015 and other years depends on terms of reference The customer of the audit (timing, volume and number of primary accounting documents, the need for the auditor to prepare a report on the audit, etc.). Approximate cost full audit of HOAs in Kazan: - if there are 150-200 apartments - from 35,000 rubles. - if there are 300 apartments in the HOA - from 45,000 rubles.
After the audit, it is possible to send a substantiated application to government investigative and other bodies in order to bring the perpetrators of the HOA to justice, as well as file a claim for damages. Audit of activities chairman of the HOA. In a partnership of real estate owners, the chairman of the board of housing has the right to act as a manager without a power of attorney on behalf of the partnership, sign payment documents in the first person and make transactions that, according to current legislation and the charter of the HOA, do not require mandatory approval by the general meeting of members of the partnership or the board of the partnership (Housing Code RF). Residents often want to check the activities of only one chairman, without auditing the activities of the HOA as a whole.


But there is no point in auditing the work of the chairman of the HOA, TSN separately from the activities of the HOA itself.

How to conduct an audit of a homeowners' association in Vologda

The Audit Commission carries out activities whose purpose is to: control financial and economic activities and conduct analysis financial condition HOA, its solvency In considering the organization’s plans that are being developed at coming year in making proposals and recommendations to the board regarding the improvement of financial activities in identifying non-compliance of ongoing business activities with the provisions of the charter, constituent documents in considering claims received from members of the partnership Recommendations for the procedure The Audit Commission should check the availability of estimates of income and expenses that are approved by the general meeting. They must comply with budgeting rules. Each calculation made must be justified by calculations with reference to formulas approved by the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation.

Homeowners association, like any business organization through which they pass large amounts money, does not always act within the law.

There are several fraud schemes that are often carried out by chairmen of management organizations.

The consequences of illiterate or negligent management are no better than from waste: an uncleaned yard and entrances, delays in repair work, poor lighting in the area near the house.

And this is also a reason for a complaint, because you have the right to good service under the Law “On Protection of Consumer Rights”.

Who can conduct an inspection?

First of all, you, as a client of this organization, have this right. If you suspect your partnership of waste or incompetence, take the time to first get a copy of the agreement you entered into with it.

Find points there where you can receive complete information about the activities of the HOA, and begin to act.

Article 150 of the RF Housing Code sets out the provisions on the audit commission. This is a body of the HOA, recruited from residents who are not on the board at the same time.

The Audit Commission is obliged to check the activities of the current board. But at the same time he cannot interfere in his decisions.

The prosecutor's office has this right. The Federal Law “On the Prosecutor's Office” dated January 17, 1992 gives it the authority to supervise the actions of legal entities. An HOA has the right to carry out its activities only if it is registered, so supervisory powers also extend to residents' associations.

ATTENTION! Although the prosecutor's office specializes in complaints about organizations' failure to comply with criminal laws, do not be afraid to file your complaints there. Even if the prosecutor considers them non-core, all data will be forwarded to the necessary authority for verification.

The State Housing Inspection and Rospotrebnadzor have the opportunity to check the activities of partnerships. The competencies of these bodies are similar in the matter of housing inspection.

The housing inspection checks the condition of the infrastructure of the house and the surrounding area to ensure its compliance with sanitary and fire safety standards.

Rospotrebnadzor can check whether the services provided comply with the agreement concluded with residents and sanitary standards. Its competence is narrower than that of the housing inspection.

Rospotrebnadzor employees rather check specific facts of poor quality services provided to HOAs.

How to control?

The easiest way to check the activities of such an organization if you have doubts about its integrity is to send a complaint to the competent authority.

Legally literate people from the Prosecutor's Office or the State Housing Inspectorate will conduct an expert check for violations of the laws of the Russian Federation and impose penalties.

If you do not trust law enforcement agencies, then organize an inspection yourself. First, file a complaint with the audit commission at the HOA. After that, start checking your business data yourself.

Request an inventory list and accounting reports. Check them. Request reports on the work performed. If the HOA ordered work from subcontractors, find out everything about these organizations through the Unified State Register.

How to detect theft?

Either by immediately sending a complaint against the partnership to the Prosecutor's Office, or by independently conducting an inspection.

As part of a self-audit, you can hire a company to conduct an audit and identify possible cases of embezzlement and embezzlement.

Audit

Audit is an inspection for the integrity of the organization’s financial activities. The company conducting the audit requests accounting data, assesses the legality of the actions of the partnership board, and checks inventory lists.

It will also be checked whether the organization's management acted within the scope of their authority. Sometimes the heads of the board of residents' associations, bypassing Article 145 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, set tariffs, spend funds from the reserve fund at their own discretion, and increase their salaries.

An audit can easily detect these facts, even by simply interviewing residents.

Who can initiate

The subject of the audit company's audit is financial and economic activities relating to the common property of residents. Therefore, the issue of starting an audit can be decided by a general meeting of residents.

According to Article 45 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, any owner has the right to convene an extraordinary meeting.

ATTENTION! In order for an extraordinary meeting called proactive tenant, was legally binding and must be attended by 50% or more of the residents.

Audit cost

The cost of auditors' services is not firmly established and depends on the scale of the work.

Typically, tenants' associations do not have a capital of more than 20 million rubles, and also cannot switch to specific taxation systems, so an audit will cost you relatively little - from 25 to 70 thousand rubles, depending on the company you contact.

What does the counting commission do?

If the charter provides for this, then a special commission can be formed at the housing association to count votes. She counts the votes and approves the results of the meetings.

Its activity occurs exclusively when residents vote on issues related to the management of common property. If it is decided to hold an absentee vote, then it is the members of this commission who go door to door and conduct a survey.

Conclusion

The inspection of the tenants' association can be carried out either independently or with the help of the competent authorities. An audit is a special examination that reveals dishonesty in business activities.

The Counting Commission is the body responsible for counting votes at partnership meetings.

An owners' association is an organization that performs a number of important functions. HOA employees and board members are involved in several activities at once to keep the apartment building in excellent condition.

Such an association is a non-profit organization. Despite the fact that almost every responsible person has access to finances and has the ability to manage them, the community does not function for the purpose of enrichment, but conducts stable activities to manage fund resources for the benefit of residents.

The tasks of the HOA include competent and honest management of the apartment building. In some cases, such an organization has the opportunity to obtain financial resources through business activities or by participating in state program, however, all proceeds should be used to improve the living conditions of the owners, and not for the personal enrichment of board members or certain members of the cooperative (before the residents?).

HOA is a legal entity. This organization is obliged to pay taxes, since in carrying out its activities it uses labor employees(?). Any community of residents can open an HOA. When choosing methods for managing a cash fund, it is advisable to make sure that there are competent and interested participants in home improvement.

Financial

The responsibilities of the HOA includes monthly collection of a predetermined amount of funds from the owners. This event is necessary to maintain the residential building and the surrounding area in optimal condition.

To increase your budget, you can rent out common areas that are not used by the owners. Such decisions can be made by members of the board, but before doing so they are required to consult with the owners of residential property at a general meeting.

Economic

The main activity of the HOA is direction financial resources to conduct current repairs, construction of additional structures important for owners. The organization’s tasks include timely repayment of utility bills, liquidation of all debts, payment of workers and companies with which relevant agreements have been concluded (read about what accounting, legal and technical services for HOAs are and to whom housing association services are provided).

It is important not only to maintain a presentable appearance home, but also maintenance of communications, systems important for residents (read about how to write a statement to the HOA about a roof leak, apartment flooding and other problems).

HOA employees are assigned certain responsibilities, including minor renovation work, cleaning the territory, maintaining green spaces in optimal conditions, if any, as well as monitoring the performance of important functions.

Other types of work

Housing inspection

This organization has the authority to conduct an inspection of the activities of the HOA. Typically, monitoring the activities of the owners' association carried out when facts of dishonesty or embezzlement of funds are identified. Often, members of an association independently report this service their suspicions about unreasonable spending of funds or concealment of income.

Prosecutor's office

When a substantiated complaint is received against the activities of HOA employees, the prosecutor's office assigns employees to conduct an inspection. In order for prosecutors to pay attention to a specific complaint, it must describe in detail the violation of the rights of residents by the HOA board. You can indicate either the fact of a systematic deviation from the established rules, or a one-time gross violation.

Audit

If residents of an apartment building notice that the data in the payment documents does not correspond to the estimate, express reasonable suspicion of theft or embezzlement, they can use audit services. This event can be carried out either on the initiative of a group of residents or with the appropriate decision of the housing inspection.

If you suspect that the board of a particular owners' association is engaged in inappropriate activities, you can check online whether a particular organization is allowed to carry out certain activities or on at the moment employees use their powers illegally.

  1. You should go to the OKVED website, determine the specific city, enter the name of the organization.
  2. Add specific information if necessary.
  3. Having found the HOA you are interested in, you can see the entire list of activities allowed for this association.

Step-by-step verification instructions

Each member of the HOA is a client of this organization, has the opportunity to inspect the activities of its employees. One of the most popular control options is the creation in accordance with Article 150 of the RF Housing Code.

Article 150 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation. Audit commission (auditor) of a homeowners association

  1. The audit commission (auditor) of a homeowners' association is elected by the general meeting of members of the association for no more than two years. The audit commission of a homeowners' association cannot include members of the association's board.
  2. The audit commission of the homeowners association elects the chairman of the audit commission from among its members.
  3. Audit commission (auditor) of the homeowners association:
    • conducts audits of the financial activities of the partnership at least once a year;
    • presents to the general meeting of members of the partnership a conclusion based on the results of the audit of the annual accounting (financial) statements of the partnership; presents to the general meeting of members of the partnership a conclusion on the estimate of income and expenses for the corresponding year of the partnership and a report on financial activities and the amount of mandatory payments and contributions;
    • reports to the general meeting of members of the partnership on its activities.

This commission includes residents who are not members of the housing cooperative board. The Audit Commission has the ability to monitor the activities of board members, but cannot influence the final decisions made.

After filing a complaint with the relevant authority, an expert assessment is carried out, in which specific facts of violation of the legislation of the Russian Federation or the terms of the contract are revealed. Penalties are usually imposed, but in some cases criminal proceedings are opened.

You can check the activities of the HOA yourself. Review the inventory list, read the accounting reports (?). Check all listed expenses with documents confirming the fact of carrying out certain work.

If the services of subcontractors were used to carry out repairs or perform other functions, you can find out official information about such companies through the Unified State Register. If there are doubts about the integrity of the HOA board, it is necessary to order an audit, which will reveal the facts of abuse of power, embezzlement and misappropriation of funds.

Reasons for initiating a criminal case

There are factors based on which you can apply to initiate a criminal case:

  • Violating the rights of residents or performing actions that do not comply with the law. First of all, the court considers cases in which the actions of the board and other employees of the HOA caused significant harm to the residents of a multi-storey building or caused losses for the owners.
  • Conducting officially unregistered activities. In connection with non-payment of taxes on income received, liability arises for all persons related to the offense.

Conclusion

If illegal actions of the board are detected, the fact of misappropriation of funds must be checked by the HOA. Authorized organizations will determine the list of violations and determine responsibility for the perpetrators. By contacting the prosecutor's office, housing or tax inspectorate, you can find out the reason for the poor quality of service in a residential building and prevent further offenses.

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The methodology for auditing non-profit organizations - homeowners' associations should be developed by an audit organization to systematize approaches to organizing an audit. This methodology can be used as a basic guide for conducting audits of other non-profit organizations in the housing and communal services sector. Auditing firms conducting audits can use this methodology when developing in-house standards and guidelines that establish mandatory general and specific principles and approaches to auditing in the housing and communal services sector.

Structurally, the methodology includes several sections (Fig. 16.1). In Sect. I of the methodology presents the preparatory stage, in section. II – “Collection of information and audit evidence, systematization of audit materials” describes some technical aspects practical application provisions and approaches of the methodology, methodological approaches to collecting audit evidence, section. III reveals approaches to assessing audit results.

Rice. 16.1.

During preparatory stage Along with performing the usual work for any inspection on drawing up a plan, program, letter of consent to conduct an inspection, drawing up and signing an agreement, work is performed that differs depending on whether the inspection is primary or repeated. At initial check a preliminary assessment of the activities should be carried out and the terms of the inspection agreed upon. At recheck it is necessary to familiarize yourself with the materials of the previous audit, evaluate how corrections were made and the auditor’s recommendations were implemented. Sources of information are estimates of the current and past periods, calculations of income and expenses, analytical accounting registers, analytical registers, reporting, and regulations.

Special section of the check - checking the validity of estimates of income and expenses of homeowners' associations and their implementation. When calculating income from the sale of services, municipal tariffs are used.

Even in the absence of commercial activity, the HOA generates cost savings of approximately 10% of the annual total fees of residents. For a house with 450 apartments this is about 800,000 rubles. The auditor should give an opinion on the optimal setting of fees for homeowners and the effectiveness of using temporarily available funds. In particular, it is necessary to establish whether income is generated temporarily available funds where they are stored, whether the conditions are optimal for storing them and ensuring profitability.

During the audit of HOA estimates, auditors, as independent professionals, check the financial statements, carry out an examination of payments and contributions of HOA members for the economic feasibility of expense items, provide consultations on accounting, tax, management accounting, legal issues.

A special section of the check is audit of HOA income sources, which, in accordance with the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, consist of:

  • from mandatory payments, entrance and other fees of HOA members;
  • subsidies for ensuring the operation of common property in an apartment building, carrying out repairs, and providing certain types of utilities;
  • income from business activities;
  • other income.

The auditor should check the legality of the business activities carried out by the TOK. As a non-profit organization, the HOA has the right to conduct entrepreneurial activity only insofar as it serves the purposes for which it was created. At the same time, the legislation of the Russian Federation establishes restrictions on the entrepreneurial activities of certain types of NPOs. In particular, the list of types of economic activities that an HOA can engage in is closed and includes:

  • maintenance, operation and repair real estate in an apartment building;
  • construction of additional premises and common property in an apartment building;
  • leasing, leasing part of the common property in an apartment building.

The auditor also checks the accuracy of profit taxation, since the HOA is a payer of profit tax on the basis of Art. 246 Tax Code of the Russian Federation. For this purpose, it is advisable to qualify the above types of income for profit tax purposes. According to Art. 247 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, the object of income taxation is income received, reduced by the amount of expenses incurred. At the same time, paragraph 2 of Art. 251 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation provides for a number of incomes that are not taken into account when determining the tax base, such as targeted revenues from the budget to budget recipients, targeted revenues for the maintenance of non-profit organizations and the conduct of their statutory activities, received free of charge from other organizations and (or) individuals and used by these recipients according to purpose.

The auditor should check the accuracy of the assignment of income to the target for the maintenance of the partnership and its conduct of the statutory activities of the income of the HOA. In particular, entrance fees, membership fees, share contributions, as well as donations recognized as such in accordance with Civil Code RF. Particular attention should be paid to the fact that contributions must be made in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation. The auditor determines whether all fees paid by members of the HOA (owners of premises in an apartment building) are designated revenues and are not subject to taxation. For this purpose, it is advisable to check the correctness of registration of entrance and other fees of HOA members and mandatory payments. Despite the fact that the activities of managing a house, maintaining, operating and repairing common property are statutory for HOAs, mandatory payments cannot be recognized as targeted revenues for the maintenance of non-profit organizations and the conduct of statutory activities, since the list of targeted revenues is closed and does not provide for such income as obligatory payments of HOA members.

The auditor should check the validity of making mandatory payments and contributions by HOA members, established by the HOA management bodies, related to the payment of expenses for the maintenance and repair of common property in an apartment building, as well as payment for utilities, which can be classified as mandatory payments, contributions, but not as entrance or membership fees. It is necessary to establish the procedure for the formation and amount of such payments and contributions of HOA members, whether it is determined by the management bodies of the HOA in accordance with its charter (clause 8 of Article 156 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation). In this case, the amount of payment for utility services is calculated based on the volume of consumed services determined by the readings of metering devices, and in their absence - based on consumption standards approved by the authorities local government(Clause 1 of Article 157 of the RF Housing Code). Payments by members of an HOA or housing cooperative for the maintenance and repair of residential premises, which includes fees for services and work on managing an apartment building, maintenance, current and major repairs of common property in an apartment building, as well as fees for utilities qualify as revenue from the implementation of work , services.

From the legislative definition of the HOA it follows that the HOA is created for the joint management of a complex of real estate in an apartment building, ensuring the operation of this complex, therefore the HOA provides the owners of premises in the apartment building with services for its management and operation. If there are owners of premises in an apartment building who do not want to join the HOA, then the law obliges the partnership to enter into agreements with them on the maintenance and repair of common property in the apartment building (Part 2, Article 138 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation). In accordance with these agreements, the owners pay for residential premises and utilities (Clause 6, Article 155 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation). Such receipts can be clearly qualified as revenue from the provision of HOA services. Moreover, these payments for organizations that own premises in the house will be expenses for payment of operating and utility services, reducing tax base on income tax. However, they cannot be taken into account on the basis of paragraphs. 29 clause 1 art. 264 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation as targeted membership fees to NPOs.

The auditor must check the elements of mandatory payments of HOA members from the point of view of taxation of HOA income for the elements included in it (payment for the maintenance and repair of residential premises, for utilities). At the same time, the auditor should keep in mind that services and work related to the management of an apartment building, maintenance, current and major repairs of common property in an apartment building are those types of economic activities that, in accordance with the Housing Code of the Russian Federation, are allowed to be carried out by HOAs. Therefore, recognition of HOA income in the form of fees for maintenance and repairs as taxable proceeds from sales seems legal and fair. But at the same time, the HOA has the right to take into account as expenses reasonable and documented costs associated with the maintenance and repair of property, which should be checked by the auditor.

When checking fees for utility services, it should be borne in mind that the HOA, created to ensure the operation of the house, does not itself provide utility services, but enters into agreements with utility organizations in the interests of the owners of the premises and is only an intermediary in the transfer of money to housing and communal services organizations that provide utility services to residents. The partnership pays for these services from funds received into the current account in the form of utility bills, acting on the terms of representation. The auditor should find out whether the charter documents reflect that the HOA is engaged in collecting and directing funds for house maintenance, and not in providing utility services. Since the HOA does not provide services, there is no income subject to taxation. According to Art. 41 Tax Code of the Russian Federation income recognized economic benefit in monetary or in kind, taken into account if it is possible to estimate it and to the extent that such benefit can be estimated. Acting only as a transit organization, the HOA does not receive economic benefits.

You should check the amount of money collected from residents based on invoices issued by organizations that directly provide utility services. It should be borne in mind that if funds are collected in the amount of the specified services actually consumed by residents, then these amounts are not taken into account as part of the income of the HOA for profit tax purposes. However, if the funds collected from residents exceed the amounts of utilities actually used by them, as well as when these funds are used for other purposes, these funds are considered as income of the HOA.

The functions of the HOA are planning, organizing and carrying out major repairs of an apartment building; in this regard, when checking the statements, you should audit the accuracy of the formation of the reserve for repairs of an apartment building, establish the procedure for planning and spending funds. The auditor must establish whether an estimate for major repairs is being drawn up, how the procedure for creating a reserve fund for repairs is regulated, whether there is a decision of the general meeting of HOA members whose competence includes these issues in accordance with housing code(Clause 5, Clause 2, Article 145 of the RF Housing Code). The costs of creating a reserve for upcoming home renovations do not reduce the tax base for income tax, since the costs of home renovations can be taken into account only after their actual implementation on the basis of paragraphs. 49 clause 1 art. 264 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation as other expenses associated with production and sales.

A special section of the audit is the audit of income from the rental of common property, rental and their use. A homeowners association has the right to provide for use or limited use part of the common property in an apartment building, to rent out part land plot, basement premises, if this does not violate the rights and legitimate interests of the owners of premises in an apartment building (clause 1, clause 2, article 137 of the Housing Code of the Russian Federation). It should be borne in mind that these incomes relate to non-operating income (clause 4 of Article 250 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation) and are subject to taxation.

The next section of the audit should be tax audit issues. The special status of HOAs determines the specifics of VAT taxation. The emergence of an object subject to this tax depends on the qualification of the activities of the HOA as the provision of services. House management, maintenance, and repair of common property qualify as the provision of services, which entails the obligation to calculate and pay VAT.

When checking personal income tax, it should be borne in mind that the partnerships from which taxpayers received income are tax agents and are obliged to calculate, withhold and pay personal income tax amounts.

If the partnership hires individuals on labor and civil contracts, then you should check whether these payments are taxed correctly. In particular, payments and other remunerations paid from membership dues and payments from residents are subject to insurance premiums in Pension fund RF, Foundation social insurance RF, Federal Fund mandatory health insurance and territorial compulsory health insurance funds.

The audit should establish the presence of registered HOA vehicles, check the accuracy of their transport tax.

The homeowners' association is not the owner of the housing stock of an apartment building, since the apartments belong to their owners, therefore there are no legal grounds for assessing property taxes to the HOA.

In addition, the HOA has the right to switch to using a simplified taxation system if the level of income does not exceed the established level.

The auditor must identify taxable and non-taxable income tax revenues among the income items of the HOA budget. It should be borne in mind that a taxpayer - a non-profit organization has the right, when determining the tax base for income tax, not to take into account the income attributed to clause 2 of Art. 251 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation to targeted receipts, if these receipts are received free of charge, are of a targeted nature, are used by the HOA for intended purpose. Moreover, targeted revenues must be used either for the maintenance of this HOA or for the conduct of its statutory activities.

An important condition for the exemption of targeted revenues from income tax is the organization separate accounting income (expenses) received (produced) within the framework of target revenues, which should be verified during the audit. If, during the audit, the auditor discovered a violation of at least one of the above conditions, then the income received by the taxpayer does not belong to targeted income and must be included in the tax base for corporate income tax.

On final stage the availability of audit evidence at all stages of the audit is established, the audit organization’s opinion is formed on the reliability of the reporting, an audit report is prepared for the client, and letters on the results of the audit are prepared.

If there are errors within the level of materiality, the audit firm decides to issue a modified conditional positive audit report. If the level of identified errors exceeds the level of materiality declared in the plan, then the auditor is recommended to draw up a negative auditor's report with a presentation of the facts that led to such a conclusion (violation of the law, failure by the board to fulfill the tasks assigned to it in managing and maintaining an apartment building, etc.). Registration of a refusal to express an opinion on reliability financial statements the partnership may be due to incomplete submission of documents and accounting data for the audited period.

The auditor must provide evidence that the partnership is not facing bankruptcy or other serious circumstances that are incompatible with the continuation of its activities. The test must be carried out in accordance with the Federal Rule (standard) audit activities No. 11 "Applicability of the going concern assumption of the audited entity."

The specifics of each methodic event are enshrined in the standard “Goals and basic principles related to the audit of homeowners’ association statements.”

The audit should be planned based on the audit firm's understanding of the HOA. During planning, it is advisable not only to draw up a standard plan and inspection program, but also to identify specific problems that should be resolved during the inspection, such as: compliance with legislation on social guarantees for residents, especially for the category of socially vulnerable ( large families, disabled people, pensioners); accounting, taxation targeted funds; usage economic opportunities partnership for the formation additional sources to finance the statutory activities of the partnership from income from the rental of property, land, walls, roofs; accuracy of tax calculations; protection of property and tax benefits provided by the legislation of the Russian Federation.

The elected management bodies of the HOA are responsible for the accuracy and validity of the information presented in financial statements and tax calculations. In addition to the requirement to comply with legislation on accounting and taxes, the board of the partnership is obliged to fulfill the statutory requirements to protect the property interests of home owners, and to submit to the meeting of owners a detailed report on its activities, confirmed by an auditor.

Conducting an audit does not relieve the management of the HOA from responsibility for fulfilling its inherent duties and functions provided for by the charter of the partnership, which is regulated by the auditing standard “Rights and responsibilities of audit organizations and economic entities.”

It is advisable to supplement the provisions of Law No. 307-FZ on the responsibility of an audit organization for the formation and expression of a professional opinion on the reliability of the accounting statements of the partnership in accordance with the level of materiality with the requirement for the need to express an objective opinion on the fulfillment of the requirements of the charter of the partnership to protect the legitimate property interests of homeowners.